A Twist in Time
by indiabrittany
Summary: On Stewie's fifth birthday, a birthday wish sends everyone back in time a few months. But there are unexpected twists and changes.
1. Birthday Wish

Chapter One

It was the day before Stewie's fifth birthday party and while Lois ordered the family around, making preparations for his party, Stewie stayed in his room. He wasn't especially excited for his birthday. Fifth birthday meant that in just a few months, he'd start going to kindergarten. He'd be away from home almost all day. Of course, he'd been to daycare before, but that was only for an hour or two at the most. Everything was changing. Peter seemed dumber every year, but maybe Stewie just got smarter. Lois was taking a job at a make-up counter in the mall. This fall, Meg would head back to college. She'd really come out of her shell in college. Being away from the family was good for her. Chris was starting his senior year of high school. He'd actually made the football team the year before and had spent the summer working out at the gym. He'd lost a lot of weight and toned up. Then there was Brian, Stewie's best friend since he was a baby. But even Stewie knew that dogs aged faster than people and every year he worried that Brian might be gone forever.

That was why Stewie had locked himself in his room. He was trying to figure out a way to get his birthday wish: that Brian would stick around. He had thought about using his time machine, but he didn't want to be back in diapers or not be able to talk again. But maybe he could figure out something. He just didn't know what to do. He loved Brian, even if he'd never admit it.

The next day, at Stewie birthday party, he didn't have as much fun as Lois had hoped he would. They had a bouncy castle, a water slide, lots of snacks, and cake and ice cream. Stewie played with the other neighborhood kids, but he was still pretty worried. Halfway through the party, Stewie said he was going to get a drink of water, but he slipped upstairs into his room.

He was disconnecting wires and connecting them to other wires, thinking, when Meg stuck her head in his room.

"Hey, Stewie," she said. "Why aren't you down at your party?"

"Oh, I'm just...messing around with this thing..." said Stewie, hiding the wires behind his back.

"Oh, that time machine toy again?" Meg asked. She laughed a little bit and then said, "You can play with that later. Come on, birthday boy. Mom sent me up here to find you. It's time for birthday cake."

"Okay," Stewie said, figuring he'd start worrying about his time machine later. He tossed the wires to the side and followed Meg downstairs.

The two of them went outside and Lois turned to him with a smile. "There's my birthday boy!" she cheered. She was overly cheery, but also a little teary. Her baby was getting so big. She couldn't believe he was starting kindergarten already.

Stewie sat down at the picnic table and all of the other kids gathered around. Chris came out of the kitchen, carrying a huge birthday cake. There were five candles already lit. Everybody started singing happy birthday and Chris set the cake in front of Stewie as the song ended.

"Make a wish, little man," said Chris, grinning at him.

Stewie smiled up at him. The older Chris and Stewie had gotten, the more Stewie looked up to Chris. Stewie kneeled up. He took a deep breath and blew out all his candles. Everyone cheered and Lois began cutting the cake.

Stewie took two pieces of cake and went over to the tree in the yard. He leaned against it and began to eat. Brian walked over to him and sat next to him.

"What'd you wish for, Stewie?" asked Brian.

"Well, I can't tell _you_," Stewie said. "I can't tell _anyone_ or it won't come true."

"Was it realistic or did you wish to take over the world again?" Brian asked.

"None of your damn business," said Stewie. "Did you want some cake?" he offered the second piece of cake to Brian.

"Thanks," said Brian. "Hey. Happy birthday."

"Thanks," said Stewie, smiling.

It wasn't until he finished his cake and stood up to throw away the plate, that he noticed everyone was moving slowly. The sky had turned dark blue and violet colors and the clouds were rumbling with thunder. Stewie looked up at the sky and then hurried to Lois.

"Mom?" he asked. "Mommy? What's going on?" She was moving slow too, although she didn't seem to notice. "Mommy?" he asked again, tugging at her sleeve.

She slowly stopped walking and turned her head towards Stewie. She started to open her mouth to speak, when Stewie suddenly felt like he'd been tipped upside down. The world spun and thunder rumbled again. Stewie tried to catch his balance, but tripped and fell instead. In the fall, he hit his head and everything around him went dark.

Little did he know that the discarded wires upstairs in his room were sparking together, the dial of his time machine spinning, and the lights flashing.


	2. Strange Changes

Chapter 2

Stewie had weird dreams with a person he didn't recognize and other things that didn't make sense. It was almost like memories that just seemed a little off. When he woke up, he was in the front yard with Lois, Peter, Chris, and that unfamiliar guy from his dream. He was a young light blond haired man with dark eyes who looked like he'd just gotten back from the beach. He was holding a beer in one hand and laughing at something Peter was saying. Chris was talking on the phone to someone about the football team and Lois was just watching the street anxiously.

A grey Honda Civic turned on to Spooner Street and pulled up to the curb. The car turned off and Chris hung up the phone.

"Okay, Mom, don't act too shocked. She's been working out a lot. She decided if I was gonna lose weight and look good she had to try too," he said.

"Mom, what about my birthday party?" asked Stewie.

"Your birthday isn't for a few months, Stewie," said Lois. "Now, let's welcome Meg home."

Stewie looked back at the car and saw a girl he barely recognize get out. She'd grown out her hair and dyed it darker. She was wearing black rectangle frame glasses, tight jeans, a purple tank top, and a pair of white patent leather pumps. Now, normally, it would have been gross and pitiful to see his sister squeeze herself into a pair of too-small jeans. He supposed it was because she had no friends in high school, but Meg had never looked after her figure. But Chris was right because apparently she had been working out. She did look really good and her clothes fit fine. The dark hair looked a lot better and she'd gotten some sun.

"Mom!" Meg exclaimed.

"Aww, Meg! It's so good to see you!" Lois said, hugging her, which was more bizarre than Meg's appearance. Meg and Lois had gotten along better since Meg had been at college, but, but they'd never been great friends.

"Hey, sweetie," said Peter, breaking away from his conversation with the strange man. He walked over to Meg and they hugged too. "Damn, look at you. You're looking hot. I bet you've got laid enough times to make up for looking like crap in high school, huh?"

"Thanks, Dad," said Meg, rolling her eyes.

"You look great, sis! I told you if we went on the same diet you'd look awesome," Chris said. He hugged Meg too.

"You look awesome too, Chris," said Meg. "That girl you're dating is lucky."

"I dumped that bitch," said Chris. "She was an idiot."

"Good for you, Chris," said the stranger, clapping Chris on the back. He took another drink of his beer and put his other arm around Meg. He messed up her hair and said, "Nice to have you home, kiddo."

"Thanks, Uncle Brian," said Meg.

"Uncle Brian?" asked Stewie, shocked.

"What?" asked the man, looking at Stewie.

"We have a dog named Brian," Stewie said slowly.

"What are you talking about?" asked Peter. "We don't have a dog. I'm allergic."

Stewie looked around at everyone's confused faces and decided not to argue. "I had a weird dream," he offered, as an explanation.

"Oh, that's okay, sweetie," said Lois. "Okay, boys, why don't you help Meg get her stuff insdie and I'll get dinner on the table. You'll be in your old room, Meg," she told her daughter. "Come help me get the table set."


	3. Uncle Brian

Chapter Three

After they were done hauling Meg's bags up to her bedroom, Brian went into the bathroom and leaned as close to the mirror as he could. "Oh. My. God," he said, slowly. He reached up and barely touched his face. What the hell was going on? How did this happen. The last thing he remembered was sitting in the backyard underneath the tree. If he looked out the window, the tree wasn't even on the same side of the yard anymore. And not only that, but there were three trees. He'd been eating birthday cake, when Stewie got up and walked away. The storm clouds had rolled in and Brian had glanced at the sky. When he looked back, everyone was moving in slow-motion. The world suddenly seemed to spin and tip and suddenly, he was standing in the front yard with Peter. On feet. Human feet. And he was holding a beer. With hands. Human hands.

Confused as he was, he'd just acted like he knew what was going on, who he was, and, basically, like it was normal. When he saw Chris, he wasn't surprised. Even that morning, Chris had been all in shape from football. He'd really taken his health and body image seriously after making the team. He was suprised when he saw Meg. Earlier that morning, when Brian was still a dog, Meg had her normal color hair with her pink hat. She hadn't been as fat - she'd thinned out since she went to college, but she'd still been sort of chubby. Now, she looked really in shape and her dark hair looked great. Chris was proud of her. Apparently the two of them had been talking a lot about workouts and health food over the last year while Chris was trying to get in shape too.

But then Stewie said something about how they had a dog named Brian and everybody looked confused. But Brian was not exactly surprised. Stewie and Brian had been through a lot of weird experiences. Lots of things seemed to happen that only Stewie and Brian seemed to remember. But seriously, what was going on?

There was knock on the door.

"Yea?" asked Brian, surprised by his voice. It sounded the same, but looked weird hearing it come out of his human mouth.

"It's Stewie."

"Oh, cool," said Brian. He opened the door and turned, leaning against the sink. "What's up, little man?"

"Don't be an idiot, what's going on?" asked Stewie, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

"What do you mean?" asked Brian.

"I mean that just a little while ago, you were a mutt on four legs," said Stewie.

"So you remember?" asked Brian.

"Of course I remember," said Stewie.

"So how did this happen?" asked Brian.

"I don't know," said Stewie.

"You have no idea?" asked Brian. "None at all?"

Stewie thought for a minute and said, "Well I did make a wish when I blew out my candles, but that stuff isn't real. Everybody knows that," he said.

"What did you wish for?" asked Brian.

"I can't tell you that!" Stewie exclaimed. "It might not come true."

"I think it already did come true, Stewie," said Brian. "Now tell me what you wished for."

"I just wished you'd be a...a more permanent part of my life," said Stewie slowly.

"What do you mean?" asked Brian.

"I mean you're a dog, Brian. Or, you were a dog. Dogs don't live forever. I wanted you to be around," he said. "I didn't think it would turn you human."

Brian grew quiet and thoughtful.

"I went to my room to find my time machine, see if I can fix anything," said Stewie, "but my time machine's gone. I can figure something out, Brian. I can build a new one."

"Now, wait a minute," said Brian. "Let's think about this. This is what you wished for, Stewie. Apparently the whole family thinks I'm your uncle. I'm Peter's brother or something. I'm going to be around for a long time. I can go to college, I can get a job and vote and do anything I want. I can really date. I can have a life, Stewie. This is great. You get your wish and I get a life."

"So you...want to be a person?" asked Stewie slowly.

"Yes," said Brian. "This is weird, but it's great."

Stewie nodded. "Okay," he said. "Okay." He smiled. "This is awesome. I have an uncle!"

"Yea," said Brian, smiling. The realization of what had happened and all the opportunities he had suddenly hit him. "Yea, you do."


	4. The Girl at the Bar

Chapter Four

It took Brian a while, but a few weeks and lots of pictures and home movies later, Brian felt like he kind of understood who he was. He remembered being a dog. Everything smelled different now and colors were so vivid! With each picture or home movie he saw, he would find Peter or Lois or Meg or Chris and casually ask them if they remembered a certain vacation or summer. He wanted to hear what they remembered, but everyone was starting to get annoyed of him, he thought. Meg and Chris were sick of Brian tagging along on their runs, but he tagged along anyway. He missed his daily walks with Lois.

Stewie didn't mind Brian hanging around and asking questions, but after a while, he wanted to do kid stuff. And Brian did not want to do that. He wanted to explore the world! Lois was actually taking some classes at the local community college and was away from home a lot. Brian thought that she was probably pretty happy that her kids could pretty much take care of themselves.

Eventually, Brian decided to take Peter up on his offer and go out to the bar with him and his friends. Brian drove. He and Peter walked into the bar and saw Quaqmire and Joe sitting at their usual table.

"Peter! Brian!" Joe called.

Brian slid into the booth and was sitting next to Quagmire. Quagmire clapped him on the back and said, "How the hell you doin, Brian? What you been up to?"

"Oh, nothing really," said Brian. "Just been relaxing."

"You got a job yet?" Joe asked, but he sounded like he was teasing.

"No. Should... I be finding a job?" asked Brian.

"Only if your latest best-seller is suddenly terrible," said Quagmire. He laughed. "Drinks on Brian!"

"My latest best-seller?" aked Brian, surprised. "How many books have I published, exactly?"

"This one was your...fourth I think," said Joe. "You're doing pretty good for yourself, Brian. You'd better start thinking up a new story soon though."

Human life had apparently been good to Brian.

"So, Peter, you glad to have Meg home for the summer?" asked Joe.

Peter shrugged. "Eh, she's gotten hot and all, but she's still the same whiney pain in the ass she's always been. She's looking for a summer job and she goes to the gym with Chris all the time, but she still bitches that she doesn't have a boyfriend. Only now, she's one of those stupid skinny girls who runs around telling everyone she's fat and ugly. You know the kind? They just want to hear how hot they are."

"She's gotten pretty hot," said Quagmire. "I'd tap that."

"No surprise there," said Brian.

They chuckled and Peter ordered a round of beers.

The bell tinkled and a Brian looked up to see a girl walk in. Brian did a double-take because he didn't realize how gorgeous she was at first glance. She was about five foot six feet tall. Her hips were curvy, she had great breasts, and a slim waist. Her dark hair was dark brown, in long dark waves and her eyes were a dark, blue-green color. Her small mouth, rose bud lips, were pursed together in a small smile. She was dressed in a pair of short, cuffed denim shorts and a white and pink flowy tank top with little flowers on it and buttons on the sides. She had on white gladiator sandals.

She must have felt someones eyes on her, because her gaze shifted almost immediately and met Brian's. She smiled and nodded.


	5. Isabelle

Chapter Five

She walked over to the bar and leaned over it a little to ask the bar tender for a drink. The usually cranky man stopped what he was doing to start on her drink immediately and she flashed him a straight, white smile.

"God, if she leaned forward even a little more, we would catch a glimpse of what ever panties she's wearing," said Quagmire, and everyone's gaze shifted to the girl at the bar.

But she didn't lean further forward. She sat down and put her purse up on the bar. About a minute later, the bar tender gave her the drink which looked like a long island iced tea to Brian. He trusted his judgment when it came to alcoholic beverages. He considered himself quite the connoisseur of alcoholic drinks. And a girl who was drinking a long island iced tea was his kind of girl.

"She really is a looker, isn't she?" asked Joe, sounding impressed.

"Yea, she ain't bad," said Peter.

"Oh, come on," Quagmire protested.

"What?" asked Peter.

"She ain't bad? She is smoking hot, Peter," he said. "What do you think, Brian?"

"She's beautiful," said Brian.

"Eh," said Quagmire. "I prefer them hot and sexy. Beautiful is marrying material and I am never getting tying myself down like that."

Everyone laughed, including Brian.

"I stand by my description," he said.

"Oh yea?" asked Quagmire. "You like that, huh? Well, go talk to her."

"What?" asked Brian, his attention snapping back to his friends.

"Go talk to her," said Quagmire.

"Yea, come on, Brian," said Joe.

"Why?" asked Brian.

"Why not?" asked Peter.

"She's probably got a boyfriend," said Brian.

"I'll go talk to her then," said Quagmire.

"What? No," said Brian.

"Too late," said Quagmire. He was already up, walking over to the girl in his air of complete confidence. "Can I get a beer, Horace?" asked Quagmire, tapping the bar.

"No problem, Glen," said Horace.

"Thanks," said Quagmire. He sat at the bar, casually, and looked around. "Oh, hello," he said to the girl, as if he'd noticed her for the first time.

She glanced over at him, continuing to sip her drink through a straw.

"My name's Glen Quagmire. I couldn't help but notice you. My buddies and I come here quite often and we've never seen you here before," he said.

She set her drink down and gave him a look. "My panties are dark green and lacey," she said.

"What?" asked Quagmire, shocked. His eyes were huge.

She jerked her head towards the table. "I heard what you said to your friends," she said. "About catching a glimpse of my panties. They are green and lacey. I thought we'd skip the small talk because I'm not going home with you tonight so that you can find out."

Quagmire's mouth opened, but words didn't come out. He couldn't think of what to say.

"Don't get me wrong," she said. "You're good looking for someone who is probably a lot older than I am, but I'm not looking to date. Or for sex, for that matter. I'm just not interested in people. No offense. Maybe if I knew you better…"

"We could get to know each other," said Quagmire, smoothly.

"I don't think so," she said, smiling. "Although I would like to meet your friends. You've never seen me here before because I just moved here."

"Yea?" asked Quagmire. "From where?"

"Utah," she said. "I thought I'd come check out what the east coast has to offer."

"Well, maybe I could take you out to dinner sometime," Quagmire offered.

"Maybe," she said. "But probably not."

"You're a tough one, huh?" he asked.

She smiled and placed the straw of her drink between her lips. "You could say that," she said. She took a sip.

"You said you wanted to meet my friends?" asked Quagmire, jumping up and offering her his arm.

"Ah, there's the gentleman I envisioned you could be," she commented, standing up. She took her purse, her drink, straightened her skirt, and then took his arm. They walked over to the table and she slid into the booth next to Brian.

Brian scooted over so that Quagmire could sit down. She scooted as well and Brian felt his skin grow hot when her thigh touched his.

Quagmire scooted in next to her and placed his hand on her thigh.

She took his hand and placed it on the table. "I don't think so," she said, cheerfully.

He laughed. "So, this is Joe, Peter, and Brian," he said, motioning it each of them in turn.

She stood up awkwardly to shake Joe and Peter's hands. Brian flushed when he realized the way she was standing, her ass was just inches from his face. She sat back down and offered Brian her hand.

He took it and kissed it.

And then realized he probably looked like an idiot and felt his face grow even hotter.

She smiled. "How charming," she said. "My name's Isabelle. It's really nice to meet you all. Tell me about yourselves."

"I got this, guys," said Peter. "Joe's in a wheel chair. I don't think his penis works…"

"That's a lie!" Joe protested.

"…Quagmire is great at sex. There's women at his place pretty much every day. I'm married so if you want to try anything, you'll have to take it up with my wife. Actually, oh, that's okay. Take it up with my wife. You can sleep with her. You're hot, she's hot. Yes. Oh and Brian is my baby brother. He is super smart. He went to Brown and is a best-selling author. He also drinks a lot…"

"No I don't," Brian interrupted.

"…but on the bright side for you, he hasn't dated in a long time."

"Oh yea?" asked Isabelle, leaning forward like she was captivated. "Why's that?"

"Some girl named Jillian broke his heart about three years ago. He hasn't dated seriously since then," said Peter, loving the attention Isabelle was giving him.

"Aww," said Isabelle. She looked at Brian. "I'm sorry, Brian. That's really tough. I haven't dated anyone in a while either."

"Yea?" asked Brian. "Why is that?"

"Well, I dated the same guy pretty seriously all through high school. At least as seriously as high school is. Anyway, he cheated on me about a week before graduation so we broke up and went off to college. I dated a girl for a year and a half and then a few guys, but not seriously. Then I got bored of Utah. So I moved out here," she said.

"I'm still stuck back on you dating a girl," said Quagmire. "Was she hot too?"

"Oh, very," Isabelle answered quickly, with a smirk. "Nice body, very fit. Big blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair."

"I'm sorry your other relationships didn't work out," said Brian.

"Oh, that's okay," said Isabelle. "They obviously weren't the right person for me."

"Brian thought Jillian was the one," said Joe.

"Can we not talk about Jillian?" asked Brian.

"Oh, look at you, Brian, pretending to be king of the world," said Peter. "We'll talk about whatever we want to talk about."

Brian rolled his eyes.

Across the room, Horace called, "Hey, doll face! Can I get you another long island?"

"No thank you," said Isabelle. "I should get going."

She turned to Quagmire so that he'd move.

"Now, now, _doll face_," he said, and it was his turn to smirk. "You aren't getting out of this booth until you agree to let me take you out sometime."

"Next time I see you on the street, how about I just flash you and we call it even?" she asked.

"Fine with me," said Quagmire, moving.

Isabelle laughed and stood up. "You boys are good fun. I hope I'll see you around. Goodbye Joe, Glen, and Peter." She flashed Brian a smile and said, "Nice to meet you, Brian."

"You too," said Brian.

Isabelle turned to walk away, but Brian slid out of the booth before Quagmire could sit back down.

"Hey, Isabelle, wait," he said.

She stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder at him.

"I know Quagmire can be a creep, but I promise I'm not," said Brian. "Would you let me take you this Saturday? You're just really interesting and I'd love to get to know you more. I think we might get along and maybe I could show you around town."

She smiled. "I was hoping you'd ask," she said. "I'd love to."


	6. Townhouse

Chapter Six

Brian was a mess that Saturday, rushing around to get ready. He'd gone out to dinner with the family the night before and they'd all stayed out late. Except for Stewie, who was home with a babysitter. Chris brought a date with him - a girl who looked suspiciously like a hooker or a stripper. Meg didn't bring anyone, so Meg, Peter, Lois, and Brian just chatted until late.

Brian woke up late the next day. It wasn't as if he got up early most days since he didn't have a job, but today was especially late. It was nearly four thirty in the afternoon when Brian sat up in bed, his hair a mess and his stubble on his face.

He jumped out of bed and showered and shaved. He looked through his drawers, trying to find something that was a little more dressy than a t-shirt and jeans. He finally settled on a pair of very expensive looking jeans with a dress shirt and a vest. He tried for a few minutes to figure out what to do with his hair, but eventually just left it messy. Then he used some body spray, put on some nice shoes and went to pace in the kitchen until it was time to pick up Isabelle.

It was about a half hour when he decided that it was time to leave. He got into his Prius and drove to the address Isabelle had given him. She lived in town in a little townhouse down the street from the bar. It was a cute little town house made of brick. It looked like it was two or three stories tall with a fire escape on one side.

Brian parked his car and walked up the steps. He took a deep breath and rang the door bell. A couple of seconds later, Isabelle opened the door. She was slipping on an earring. She smiled when she saw it was Brian.

"Come in," she said. "I just have to put on some shoes and I'm read to go."

"Okay," said Brian, stepping awkwardly into the house.

He shut the door behind him. Isabelle had disappeared somewhere into the house.

He glanced at the front room to his left and smiled. It was interesting. The walls were painted royal blue. There was a black piano, a white couch, green chairs, and a black wood coffee table. There was a large canvas art print of a little home tucked into the trees in a landscape of wonderful green grass with the blue sky stretched out above.

Brian smiled a little bit.

"You like it?" asked Isabelle, reappearing from wherever she had gone to.

"It's colorful," said Brian. "I like the painting."

"Thanks. My father painted it," she said.

"Do you play?" asked Brian.

"Excuse me?"

"The piano. Do you play the piano?" Brian asked.

"Oh," said Isabelle. "Yea. A little bit. I took lessons when I was little. I know how to play a lot of Disney songs and a lot of Christmas songs."

"Christmas songs," said Brian. "So you're Christian?"

"Kind of," she said. "I'm going to run upstairs and get my shoes. Do you want to come se the place?"

"Sure," said Brian. "There's some boxes cuz I haven't gotten everything unpacked yet, but just ignore any mess," she said.

"That's fine," said Brian. "I understand."

"Okay, come on," she said. She walked into the next room. "This is the kitchen!" she said. "I want to do it in a deep red color and put up some artsy pictures of wine bottles and grapes and stuff. There's a room back here," she said, walking down a hallway. "I haven't done anything with it yet. I think I'll put a computer in here or something. I don't know." They walked back to the front of the house and up the stairs. "I don't have anything set up on the second floor," she said. "Just boxes and the laundry room." She continued up the stairs. "And up here," she said, opening the first door, "is my library. Not really a library, but here it is."

Brian was impressed.

Two walls, and the half of the wall where the door was covered with floor to ceiling bookshelves. There was even a step stool so that you could get to the top shelves. Only one bookcase was half full, but there were five unopened boxes on the floor. The third wall had a large armchair, a chaise lounge, and a desk against it.

"I love it," said Brian.

"Do you?" asked Isabelle. "I was a total bookworm in school. People made fun of me." She laughed like she couldn't care less. "I still love to read. I don't ever get sick of it."

"I love to read too," said Brian.

Isabelle smiled like what he'd said made her the happiest girl in the world. "I love hearing that," she said. "With all this technology, written literature is a dying art. Sometimes it makes me so sad." She looked at him, this deep look in her eyes and smiled only a little. She walked out of the library and Brian followed her.

"That's my room," said Isabelle, motioning to the other door. "And maybe you'll see it one day," she teased.

"It's a beautiful home," said Brian. "How do you afford it?"

"I do alright for myself," said Isabelle, in her way of answering without really answering.

Brian smiled. "Are you ready to go to dinner?" he asked.

"Absolutely," said Isabelle. "I've been looking forward to it all day."


End file.
